The Pros and Cons of Treating a Bunion

If you’ve got a bunion, chances are you’ve known it for a while. You’ve been watching it over time. Maybe it’s gotten worse, jutting out a little further from the base of your big toe. It didn’t hurt before, but now it’s starting to. You’ve had to make some changes, take something for the pain from time to time. It doesn’t always bother you. So, should you do something about it?

It is an excellent question to ask, and if you live in Cuyahoga or any of the surrounding counties (Portage, Summit, and Geauga), it’s one you can answer with the help of expert podiatrists Dr. Megan L. Oltmann and Dr. Craig B. Frey of Foot & Ankle Associates of Cleveland. Treatment for your bunion is personal and individual. It’s not about comparing the size of your bunion to your mom’s. How your co-worker treated her bunion shouldn’t determine what you do about yours. You have to weigh the pros and cons of your particular situation.

Pros

Treating a bunion can prevent other toe problems from developing, such as ball-of-foot pain, corns, calluses, and additional toe deformities such as hammertoes.

Early treatment of a bunion can help you delay surgical correction or avoid surgery altogether.

Cons

Conservative treatments usually include a change in footwear, so you may have to give up shoe styles that you love, including narrow toe boxes and high heels.

If you decide together with Dr. Frey and Dr. Oltmann that you need surgery, you incur all of the risks that any surgery presents. You’ll need time to recover – anywhere from 8-12 weeks.

Let us help you weigh the pros and cons of bunion treatment or bunion surgery. Contact us online or call us at (440) 903-1041 for an appointment. Our state-of-the-art podiatry office is located in the beautiful suburb of Solon, Ohio.